Ed Reed will start vs. Ravens if he plays

It was assumed Ed Reed’s Texans debut, now likely to happen Sunday against his former team in Baltimore, would be in a relief role, coming off the bench for certain cover packages. But coach Gary Kubiak said Friday that if Reed’s ready to play at all, he’ll start at free safety in place of Shiloh Keo.

“We take a look at his body of work throughout the course of the week, watch him move, watch the movements you’ve got to make to play and then come to a conclusion if he’s ready to go,” Kubiak said.

Reed took a full load of repetitions during practice this week and there was no indication his surgically repaired hip was hindering him. He declined to speak with the media Friday about Kubiak’s saying he would be the starter.

Keo said he hadn’t been told that, but it didn’t surprise him. However, he admitted, “as a competitor,” it disappointed him.

“I know Ed’s been taking a lot of reps this week if he’s ready to go, he’ll probably play,” Keo said. “It doesn’t surprise me. As a competitor, everyone wants to be on the field. It’ll be tough (not starting). I’ll leave it at that. A guy of his stature, athletic play, repertoire, it’s hard to keep him on the sideline. You can’t hate on anybody who wants to put a guy like him out there.

“But I’m going to prepare the same, like I’m the guy. We’ll see game day.”

Keo said he’ll throw himself into his special teams play regardless of the decision made at safety.

“I’m a big special teams player,” he said. “That’s how I’ve created my name in this league.”